Accidents in the Dark
by makesmyheadspin
Summary: A New Chapter Contest Promo: Eric & Sookie find themselves locked in a cellar together during a nasty thunderstorm. You know what they say about accidents in the dark causing children... AH/AU/Lemony goodness with a side of baby cuteness


**Promo for A New Chapter Contest**

**Title:** Accidents in the Dark

**Characters:** Eric & Sookie; mentions of Amelia, Pam, Jason

**Word count: **10,924

**Pen name:** makesmyheadspin

**Beta: **evenflo78

**Status: **Vet battin' for the promo team

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the characters. The snark's all mine.

* * *

Accidents in the Dark

The phone ringing next to my head pulled me from a dream where I was having a tea party with Ernest Hemingway, the Queen of Hearts, Garfield the Cat and Tony Blair. We were discussing underwater fashion trends. Weirdest. Dream. Ever. I grabbed the phone and groaned when I saw the number on the display.

"What?" I barked into the phone.

"Good morning to you, too, Sunshine."

Oh, great. Just who I wanted to hear from.

"What do you want, Northman?"

"You. Naked on my desk."

"Don't get your hopes up. Or anything else, for that matter."

"It's going to happen one of these days, Stackhouse. Even a stubborn woman like you can't stay alone forever."

I wanted to argue that, while I didn't have a boyfriend, it didn't mean I was alone. It was a moot point, however, and I really didn't feel like getting into a semantic argument with him when I should have been catching up on my sleep. I finally had a full day off. I planned on being a complete bum. So far, Eric was ruining my plan.

"I'm not alone." I sighed all the same. "Is there a reason you called me, or was sexual harassment all you had on the agenda?"

"I need you to come in for inventory." He was all business all of a sudden.

"It's Arlene's turn." I reminded him.

"Yeah, well, she says Coby and Lisa are sick and she can't get a sitter."

"Not my problem." I said in a sing-song voice just to piss him off.

"I'll pay you double and let you leave at closing on Saturdays for the next month." He certainly knew how to sweeten a pot, that snake in the grass.

"Throw in Fridays and we have a deal." I said smugly, knowing I was going to get what I wanted because Eric favored me.

"Deal. Oh, and Stackhouse?"

"What?"

"I don't like cream in my coffee." He hung up before I could respond. Did that ass think I was bringing him coffee?

I stared at the phone with my mouth open wide enough to catch a gator. That smug bastard. When I started working at the bar it was owned and operated by Sophie-Anne LeClerq. She'd been dating my cousin Hadley at the time and had given me the job as a favor to her "pet". Since then, Hadley and Soph had parted ways. Sophie-Anne got married and decided to start a family. Motherhood and the nocturnal hours of a bar owner weren't working for her, so she brought on a partner. Enter Eric Northman, bar manager and Sookie Stackhouse harasser extraordinaire.

I don't know what he thought was so fascinating about me (well, other than my boobs, but every woman has a pair of those), but he didn't hesitate to let me know he was interested. He didn't seem to care that there were laws against harassing employees. I guess, in some ways, it was my own fault since I never complained to anyone who was in a position to do anything about it. I suppose you could say there was a part of me, a part I didn't like to acknowledge, that enjoyed the attention I got from him. There was some sort of twisted enjoyment I got out of bantering with him. I couldn't even begin to explain why.

The thing was, Eric was good for the business. I suppose that was also part of the reason I didn't report him to Sophie. Business had definitely increased since he'd taken over the reigns. The co-eds sure loved him, that's for sure. Hoards of drunken girls were constantly throwing themselves at him. Imagine my disgust and surprise when I felt myself get jealous one time. I swore to myself never again, and ever since, I try not to pay any attention to what Eric's doing when he's working the floor.

I had more important things to focus on than what the manager was doing. I was in my senior year at the local university. I was just a few weeks shy of graduating with my degree in English Literature. I had a lot of reading to do, and lots of papers to research and type. I didn't have time to think about the reasons why I got jealous when I saw Eric talking to someone else. He was free as a bird, right?

I refused to consider the idea that he wouldn't be if I told him I was interested. I just couldn't go there. Besides, with an ego like his, I was sure I'd die of testosterone poisoning within a week. Don't' get me wrong, Eric had one hell of a sense of humor and most of the time, I enjoyed working with him. He was also easy on the eyes, and was fun to watch when he stepped behind the bar. He towered over the majority of the bar's patrons, although I couldn't tell you exactly how tall he was. His hair was the same shade of blond as mine, and hung down to his shoulders. His eyes were deep blue and had a wisdom that surpassed his years. He also had an amazing body that can be best described as an Olympic swimmer/underwear model hybrid. Yes, it was _too easy_ to get lost staring at Eric.

God help me if he ever caught me, though.

I hauled my ass out of bed and looked out my bedroom window. A few clouds had gathered overhead, and a nasty storm appeared to be rolling in from the south. I grimaced at what I was sure would be another rock 'em sock 'em storm, and got myself in the shower. If I could just get to the bar before the rain started, I'd be a happy camper- relatively speaking, anyway.

I blow dried my hair and pulled on a pair of ripped up jeans that probably should have been put out to pasture about five years before, but they were perfect for the kind of work I was about to be doing. Inventory at the bar meant being down in the cellar taking counts and moving crates. No way was I about to get myself all fancied up for the job. I pulled on a red tank top and a pair of comfy running shoes. I grabbed my purse and an apple and headed out.

I stopped for coffee and made sure to have extra cream put in Eric's. By the time I got to the bar, the sky had darkened and thunder was rolling overhead. Yep, it was gonna be a doozy. I knocked on the glass door and waited for Eric to let me in.

"You have a key." He glared at me when he got to the door.

"I know." I handed him a cup of coffee. "I just like making you do things I know you don't like to do. We seem to have that in common."

He sipped the coffee and glared at me again. "This is disgusting."

"Then next time get it yourself." I shrugged and walked into the bar. "Or better yet, stop putting Arlene on the inventory rotation. You know she never comes in to do it."

"Maybe I like having a reason to call you first thing in the morning." Eric countered.

"Or maybe you're just a glutton for punishment." I snickered.

"That, too." He actually winked at me before heading toward the back.

I followed behind him, admiring the view I got courtesy of the tight jeans he was wearing. It really wasn't fair that he was so aware of how good looking he was. If he didn't behave like he was God's gift and the world owed him something, I would probably be much more inclined to give into him like he wanted me to. At this point, I was holding out more because I wanted to prove a point than because I wasn't interested.

We were in the process of counting the paper products when the storm started to intensify over our heads. Even down in the cellar we could hear the thunder. The one thing Eric definitely had going for him was his manners. In spite of his penchant for sexually suggestive comments, he could be very polite and almost chivalrous when he wanted to be. He held doors, pulled out chairs and remembered the golden word. He was generous with his staff, and he treated us well.

The lights flickered overhead, which got me to stop what I was doing. "Maybe we should go back upstairs before the power goes out?"

Eric set down the box he was holding, which was a shame, since the tension in his arms was a lovely thing to look at. "Don't tell me you're afraid of thunderstorms, Stackhouse."

"Did I say that?" I rolled my eyes at him. "I just don't want to end up trapped down here with _you_."

"Oh come on, Stackhouse, would it be so bad? We've been down here a whole half an hour and I haven't made so much as one comment about how ridiculously hot your ass looks in those jeans." Eric said with pride in his voice.

"You're impossible." I grumbled and went back to making notes on the clipboard I was holding.

"Why is that? Is it because I'm honest? Or maybe it's because you don't have the guts to go after what you want." Eric was staring at me but I wouldn't look up and give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right. Jerk.

I waited a minute or two before suggesting we get back to work. "I do have other things I wanted to do today."

"Yeah, I know, you're writing that paper on The Last Exit to Brooklyn." He muttered as he walked past me to get the crate of whiskey that was keeping the door open. He remembered that? I'd told him about that paper months ago. I didn't even think he was listening when I'd mentioned it. Huh.

The door slammed heavily, jarring me from my thoughts, and the papers I was looking at. "Shit!"

"What? It was just the door closing." Eric said as he passed me with the crate in his hands.

"Yeah, I got that part. The problem is the door has a tendency to stick when humidity rises, and since we're currently on course for the perfect storm, I'm willing to bet..." I trailed off when I yanked on the door and it wouldn't open. "We're stuck. Great! _Thank you very much!_"

"Oh, calm down, will you? It's not like we'll be in here forever. People will start showing up for work at three."

I looked at my watch and said, "That's almost six hours from now."

"Then I guess we can take our time with the inventory." Eric set the crate down.

"This isn't funny, Eric! I have things to do today!" I whined.

"Good God, Stackhouse, are you always this big of a pain in the ass?" He leaned against a wall and stared at me.

"Only when I get stuck in musty basements with people who drive me nuts." I went back to my perch on an old desk Eric had moved down there when he took over the bar.

"Is there a reason why 98% of what comes out of your mouth is dripping with sarcasm?"

"It's the way I am. Deal with it." I shrugged. "Besides, it's not like the majority of what comes out of _your_ mouth isn't some cheesy pick up line or a lame attempt at flirting with me."

"Lame huh? Then why do you bother to respond to it?" Damn it if he didn't have a point.

"Whatever, Eric." Yes, I know, excellent comeback.

Eric smirked and shook his head. "If you're an English major, that's pathetic."

"Can we get back to work? The second that door opens, I'm outta here." I picked up the clipboard.

"Fine." Eric started moving boxes around and giving me counts.

There was obvious tension in the room but we did our best to ignore it. It was going about as close to fine as it was going to get until the lights went out.

"Oh, hell." I muttered and put the clipboard down. I jumped off the desk and started to go through the drawers to see if there was a flashlight in there somewhere. Of course there wasn't. "As if today couldn't possibly suck a little more."

Eric erupted with laughter from the other side of the room. I failed to see what was so funny about the situation we were in. My idea of a good time wasn't being stuck in a dark cellar with someone I couldn't really let myself be with. Not only was it just a bad idea all the way around, but he was also my boss. Maybe he had no boundaries when it came to that sort of thing, but I sure did, and like it or not, I needed my job.

"Would you lighten up, Stackhouse?"

"No, I won't lighten up! This sucks!"

"You know, you really should make a little time in that schedule of yours for something other than work. Maybe you wouldn't be so grouchy all the time."

"Oh, right. All work and no play makes Sookie a nasty bitch."

"That's not what I meant."

"Might as well be."

"So then do something about it." Eric said bitterly. "Stop throwing yourself a pity party and change things if you're miserable."

"Who said I was?" My eyes snapped up to his. "Listen, just because I'm stressed out right now doesn't mean I'm unhappy with my life. Things are the way they are and I'll deal with it because it's worth the sacrifice. In three weeks I graduate. I'll have my degree and I can move back home where I belong and be done with this place. You won't have to worry about my miserable bitch personality anymore."

Eric looked like I'd just clobbered him with a bottle of Jack Daniels. "You're leaving?"

"Duh! Why the hell would I stick around?"

"You never said anything about leaving."

"Again, _why_ would I stick around?"

"You have an apartment and a job..." He trailed off, although it was obvious to me what he really wanted to say, but wouldn't.

"And back home I have a job waiting for me, not to mention my house. I have a life back there. I have friends, and my family. You think I'm just some spinster type because I don't date or party all the time? Well, you're wrong. I'm focused. I didn't come here to fuck around and make an ass of myself. I came here to get my education so I could do something with my life besides get married and have babies." I said with conviction.

"I didn't know." Eric looked to the floor.

"No, of course you didn't because you're too busy trying to figure out ways to get in my pants."

"Get over yourself." Eric shook his head.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You know, contrary to whatever you think of yourself, my every thought isn't about you."

"Did I say it was?" I snapped at him.

"You certainly seem to think so." There was a long pause after that before he finally asked, "When are you leaving?"

I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but the truth was, I was going to miss him. Frankly, saying goodbye to him wasn't going to be easy. I didn't really plan on coming back anytime too soon. There wasn't much of a reason for me to stick around, or to visit. I hadn't made a ton of friends, as Eric had pointed out in his less than subtle way. My life would be back in Bon Temps.

"I leave the week after graduation." I spoke quietly. "I already started packing."

He ran his hand through his hair. "When were you going to tell me?" His tone suggested I'd owed him more notice than he was getting.

"Next week, maybe the week after." I tried to keep it casual, but I was starting to feel guilty.

Eric didn't say anything. The mood in the room had definitely shifted. The angry tension had faded into something more mournful. I slipped off the desk, feeling a sudden urge to comfort him, although I couldn't tell you why. I crossed the room slowly and carefully. Very little light was filtering in from the small windows that were maybe four inches high and made of block glass.

"Eric, just so we're clear, I'm not leaving because of you." I said once I was standing in front of him.

I slowly reached my hand out and rested it on his arm. A jolt ran through me that I wasn't prepared for. His eyes met mine in the darkness. I felt like I should say something but there weren't any words coming to me. I started thinking about what it would be like not to see him every day. Yes, yes, I bitched about the flirting and the distraction he provided, but the truth was, I was going to miss him. I was going to miss him way more than I should.

"Would it make a difference if I said I didn't want you to go?" Eric asked, his voice surprisingly gentle, and full of more emotion than I could hope to decipher at that moment.

"What reason do I have to stay?" I asked as our eyes met for a second time.

He lunged forward and kissed me without warning, although I can't really say I was surprised by it. What was a bit surprising was how easily I responded to it. Yes, I knew I was attracted to him. Yes, I knew I'd been acting like a third grader about it with my whole 'boys have cooties' mentality. More than once I'd told myself there was no way Eric deserved to walk with the swagger he did. I told myself it was all bloated ego, and there was no way his body could cash the checks his mouth was writing. I was wrong. I was wrong about all of it.

Saying Eric was a good kisser would be like telling someone ice cream tastes amazing on a hot summer day. A statement like that would be obvious and an understatement all at the same time. All it took was that one kiss, and it was like the rubber band of tension that had been pulled taught between us had finally snapped under the pressure. He tasted like the coffee I'd brought him with just a hint of vanilla on his lips, which I wasn't expecting.

The kisses were hungry and demanding, and showed no signs of slowing after ten minutes. My brain turned off and my body took over. Something about being locked in a dark cellar with him somehow made what we were doing okay. We were passing the time. I'd never done the one night stand/casual sex thing before, but there's a first time for everything, isn't there? Besides, maybe if we got it out of our systems, we could go back to functioning like normal adults.

I squirmed out of my tank top and dropped it on the floor near my feet. Eric wasted no time pulling off his own t-shirt before going after my bra. As soon as the lacy contraption joined the growing pile of clothing on the floor, his eyes were glued to my breasts. His hands drifted up and cupped them firmly.

"Even better than I imagined." He whispered in my ear before claiming my mouth again.

I felt myself backing up toward the desk, both of us careful not to stumble over the boxes strewn in our path. Eric got me up on the desk after I kicked off my shoes and he unbuttoned my jeans so I could wiggle out of them. My legs parted so he could stand between them, and the kissing resumed. His hands left my breasts so they could tangle in my hair, slanting my head to one side and then the other, before turning his attention to my neck. He nipped and sucked at the skin while tugging gently on my hair.

My hands ran up and down his chest, stopping briefly to pinch his nipples. He hissed and pulled back to look at me with an impish glint in his eyes. "Lay back, lover."

I arched an eyebrow at the use of an unexpected pet name, but complied with his request. His fingers hooked around the side of my panties and started to tug them. I lifted my hips so he could get them off. They got as far as the bend of my knees before Eric's mouth sank down to my breasts to pay them more attention. There was more nipping, sucking and teasing before he moved to the other side. My heart was racing and I was already breathing hard.

Part of me wanted this to be slow and savory, while the other part wanted it to be hard and fast. I knew I would remember it either way. Lord knows I'd waited for it long enough. Slowly, Eric's mouth moved down my body until he dropped to his knees in front of the desk. He lifted my legs one at a time, kissing his way from my knee up the inside of my thigh before switching to the other leg. Once they were hooked over his broad shoulders, he allowed his thumbs to part the folds of my center, exposing my core to him.

"Beautiful." He said so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

My head was turned to the side but snapped to attention when he demanded I look at him. I watched his tongue appear and then slide against my already slick flesh. A moan escaped, and a few of its friends quickly followed suit. My hands ended up in his hair, scratching at his scalp as he flicked against me, teasing in all the right places. One finger slid inside me, twisting and turning until I was rolling my hips. A second finger joined the first and the speed of his thrusts increased.

"Sweet Jesus, don't stop." I moaned loudly.

His response was to latch onto my clit and nibble it gently. My body was hot and trembling, wanting more of him, and he didn't disappoint. I heard myself chanting his name, the sound getting louder and louder the closer I got to my orgasm. I let go of his hair and grabbed onto the edge of the desk instead, shouting loudly when I came. My hips had elevated from the desk considerably, but immediately dropped down once my release came. Eric continued to french kiss my clit until my breathing started to return to normal. He dropped one last kiss on me before getting back to his feet.

"Perfect," he murmured while his lips glided up my body.

His lips had found mine, and I got the first taste of myself I'd ever had while I reached between us to unbutton his jeans. I felt his erection pressed against the inside of my thigh. My last sexual encounter had been over the previous summer, nearly a year ago, and the guy I'd been with wasn't packing anything like Eric was. As soon as I got the zipper down on his jeans, I realized he was going commando. His length sprang free like a jack-in-the-box that had been cranked one time too many.

I tugged his jeans down as much as I could and used my feet to do the rest. My hand wrapped around the pulsing length between us and started to stroke. Eric grunted against my neck before standing upright, leaving me no choice but to let him go. He pulled me off the desk with that impish glint returning to his eyes. I was completely prepared for him to spin me around and bend me over the desk. Part of me wanted it like that, but it wasn't to be.

Instead he grabbed me around the waist and lifted me up like I was nothing more than a rag doll. My legs wrapped around his waist. Our eyes met as his hands settled on my ass, sliding me down onto his length. Thank God he was gentle because Eric was easily the largest man I'd ever been with, and while my body wanted him, it didn't make taking him in all at once any easier.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Just go slow." I leaned forward to kiss him.

He did as I asked and waited for me to move so he'd know I was okay. I ended up pressed against the wall with my hands back in his hair while he was pounding into me. There was nothing behind me to grab onto for leverage, but Eric was doing just fine all on his own. My second orgasm had me clawing at his back with one hand and pulling his hair with the other while my mouth was busy sucking on the side of his neck. He growled against me as my walls clamped down around him, trying desperately to get him to come with me, but he held back. He slowed the pace of his thrusts, clearly not wanting it to be over so soon.

He moved us back to the desk and pulled out of me. I whimpered, surprised at how much I hated the idea of him not being inside me anymore. Eric set me down on the desk and told me to lay back. I did what he asked and was surprised when he picked up my legs. They were straight up in the air, which I'd never done before, and they were pressed together. Eric held my ankles with one hand while guiding himself back inside me with the other.

"Ohmygod!" I groaned loudly at the sensation as he entered me. As if he hadn't already felt huge, he felt even bigger with my legs pressed together. "Oh god, oh god!" I kept chanting as he slid in and out of me slowly. He was pulling almost all the way out before sliding back in. It was the most delicious torture.

He stood over me, watching the bounce of my breasts with each of this thrusts. His free hand settled over my center, his thumb rubbing circles over my clit. I tried to remember the reasons why I'd never let myself experience this before, but my brain was rapidly turning into jell-o. I had nothing.

"Eric, faster, please." I begged. I was so close, but my request only saw him backing off. I groaned in frustration when his thumb left my clit. He parted my legs so that one ankle was on each of his shoulders and he leaned forward, burying himself inside me at an angle that was new and equally wonderful.

When he bent down over me I was nearly folding in half, but I didn't dare move my legs. My body felt so full and stretched in amazing ways. I leaned forward and caught his bottom lip with my teeth before sucking it into my mouth. His hips pulled back before slamming into me, setting an almost punishing pace. I felt like I was being claimed and marked, but I didn't care. There was something possessive in his eyes as he pounded himself against me.

I held his gaze and with each thrust into me, he was hitting a spot inside me that had me crying out, and begging for more. "Harder. Oh God, Eric, harder!"

I'd never felt myself come undone in such a way, and Eric was only too willing to dish out everything I could take. I felt him swelling inside me, a sure sign he was close to his own release. His hand managed to get between us and find my clit, rubbing it furiously with his thumb to make sure I came when he did. I was screaming by the time my orgasm tore through me, although it was hard to hear over the roar Eric let loose when he finished deep inside me.

He hadn't even pulled out of me yet when the lights came back on, and reality started to filter in. I'd just had amazing, mind-numbing sex, and I'd done so without any form of protection. Well, fuck me twice on Sunday.

* * *

_Eight weeks later..._

"Hey, Eric, it's Sookie. Listen, I um, I need to talk to you. Call me when you-" I paused because the call waiting was beeping in my ear. It was Eric. "And that's you." I clicked over to the other line. "Hey, I was just leaving you a message."

"I was in the shower." His voice was dripping with sex. "It's not as much fun if you're not in there with me, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't, but that doesn't mean I haven't had the same thoughts a time or two myself." I admitted.

"So what's going on, lover?"

"I need to see you."

"I need to see you, too." There was that sex voice again.

"I'm not talking about that." I sighed. "We have a problem."

"You dumping me?"

"No!" I said quickly. I didn't even know what Eric and I were. We hadn't had one of those relationship talks that establishes just what sort of relationship we had. We had yet to go on an actual date, but that didn't stop us from fucking like bunnies every time we were alone in a room together. Yet, it wasn't just a sex thing between us either. I cared about him, and I knew he cared about me.

"Then whatever it is, we can work it out."

"I'm not so sure about that." I looked at the little piece of plastic with the bright pink plus sign in the testing window that was taunting me from the rim of the tub.

"I'm off tonight. I can come out to your place." He suggested.

Eric hadn't been happy when I told him that while sex with him was great, it wasn't enough of a reason for me to stay. In spite of that, he'd been as supportive as he could. He'd helped me move back to Bon Temps, and then he'd helped me christen every room in the house. It was getting so I could barely look anywhere in the house without seeing him there.

Since we hadn't had any serious discussions about what was happening between us, I didn't really know what he wanted. We'd very briefly talked about the fact that we'd had unprotected sex, but he had been convinced one time wouldn't be enough. I snickered at that, remembering all of the lectures I'd gotten in health class in high school. My teachers were always saying that one time was all it took. They couldn't have been more right, since according to EPT, I was most definitely a double occupancy.

"You want to give me a hint?" Eric asked.

"Nope. This is a face to face problem." I was afraid it would be the last time I'd see his face. Telling him I was pregnant over the phone would be okay if it was something we'd been planning on, or trying for, but it seemed like it would be the cowardly thing to do under our current circumstances.

"Okay, well, I can be there in an hour. Forty-five minutes if I blow all of the speed laws."

"Don't be an idiot. I'm not going anywhere." If only he knew how true that was.

"Are you okay?" He picked up on the cryptic tone of voice I was using.

"Just get here when you can. I'll be waiting." I hung up before he could say anything else.

I went back to my room and stretched out on my bed. I crossed my legs at my ankles and rested my hands on my stomach, covering the little piece of plastic that confirmed what I'd already suspected. Honestly, I wasn't all that upset about being pregnant. Maybe it was because I'd suspected it for a while. There was this little voice in the back of my head that told me I was. I'd had time to consider what I would do if the voice was right.

Ultimately, the question wasn't of whether or not I would keep the baby. Abortion wasn't an option for me, and there was no way I could give up my child. Having lost my parents at such a young age, I don't think I could willingly give away a piece of myself to someone else to raise. The question was, would Eric be sticking around to raise this baby with me? While Eric might not be the most faithful when it comes to relationships, I knew he took his responsibilities seriously. He was extremely loyal to the things he felt were worthy of him. I wanted to believe his child would be one of those things.

I closed my eyes and let myself drift off, rather than stressing out over something I had no control over. I wasn't going to force Eric's hand one way or the other. Whether or not he chose to be involved would be all on him. I knew I was strong enough to handle this all on my own if I had to. It would be a bit of a struggle, but I knew I could do it. Once I set my mind to something, I was nearly unstoppable. I didn't want anything from Eric he didn't want to give.

I hoped for the sake of our child that he wanted to be involved. If he didn't want to be with me anymore, I could deal with that. I just hoped he wouldn't take it out on the baby. The baby didn't ask to be born into our mess. I must have fallen into a rather deep sleep because the sound of Eric's car rumbling up my driveway didn't wake me. I think getting confirmation put my mind at ease, which made sleeping easier.

The sinking of Eric's weight onto the bed beside me was what woke me up. My head rolled to the right and my eyes fluttered open to see his ridiculously handsome face hovering over mine. Without a word, I leaned over further and kissed him. My hands continued to clutch the little piece of plastic against my stomach as I kissed him. His large hand cupped my cheek, his finger stroking me gently.

When he tried to pull me on to of him, I started to push at his chest so he'd release me. "What's wrong?" He looked at me with concerned eyes.

"I found out something this morning that you might not be happy about." I fiddled with the plastic in my hand. I took a few deep breaths, feeling all kinds of nervous all of a sudden. I really didn't want to lose him. I didn't know where things were going with us, but I wanted to find out. The timing of the whole thing really sucked. "I'm pregnant."

Eric's eyes widened a little bit. "You mean _we're_ pregnant, right?"

I nodded and held up the little piece of plastic so he could see the pink plus sign in the test window. "First time was the charm for us."

He exhaled loudly, taking the plastic from my hand and staring at it intensely. "You're sure? I mean, this isn't a false positive, right?"

"I have to make an appointment with my doctor, but I'm pretty sure the test is right. I'm late and I've just had this feeling..." I trailed off.

"So what are we... I mean, do you know what you want to do?" Eric was still staring at the pregnancy test.

"I'm keeping it." I spoke quietly, having gone from nervous to terrified. "I know this wasn't planned, and I promise this wasn't a trap-"

"Whoa, whoa. Why would you think I'd think something like that?" Eric stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Because guys think stuff like that." I shrugged.

"Well, I'm not most guys." Eric's eyes were holding mine. "You should know that better than anyone by now."

"On some level I know that, but things have a way of changing when your entire life flashes before your eyes." I started to move away from him, but his arm looped over my waist to keep me close to him.

"Don't run." He whispered, his head dropping against my neck.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't run away from me." He whispered in my ear.

"Eric, I'm not running."

He picked his head up so we were eye to eye again. "I'm not going to ask you to marry me because of this. I want to be with you, and I want to be a father to this baby, but I won't ask you to marry me because of it."

I think I might have fallen in love with him right there. "Okay. Good. I mean, it's not that I would be against marrying you, necessarily, but we don't know each other well enough for that yet and I don't want to marry you for the wrong reasons. When I do it, it's going to be forever."

Eric smiled down at me and then kissed me gently. He was taking the news much better than I'd thought he would, which just went to show how well I knew him. Maybe somewhere down the line we'd get married, but we weren't ready for that yet. Just learning to be parents together was going to be enough. Besides, I was already tied to him for the rest of my life. I really didn't need a doctor to confirm was I was absolutely sure of, but I'd make the appointment because I had to.

"I want to be there." Eric's eyes searched mine. "For everything, I want to be there."

I nodded and said, "You can be there for anything you want. I just... I need you to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"When I was young, my parents used to fight a lot. It was mostly over money and my Mom being jealous of every woman that ever looked at my Dad. He never cheated on her or gave her any reason to think he was being unfaithful. He worked hard and took care of his family. Jealousy was just in my Mom's nature. When they would get in fights, Mom would use Jason and me against my Dad to get him to do what she wanted. She would threaten to take us away from him and go somewhere so he'd never see us again. I hated her for that. I hated what it did to my father. I don't want to be like her, and I won't raise my kids that way. So promise me if you ever decide you want out of our relationship that you won't put our kid in the middle of it." I explained to Eric.

His thumb traced over my bottom lip before he lowered himself to kiss me. "I promise I won't ever put our child in the middle of our problems."

"Thank you." I whispered against his mouth and then let him kiss me until we couldn't breathe anymore.

* * *

_7 Months Later..._

I was propped up on the couch, feeling every bit like the beached whale I know I appeared to be. I felt like I was as big as a house, and no matter what position I got into, I was uncomfortable. I was laying on my side as much as I could with a mountain of pillows supporting various parts of my body. Eric was sitting at the other end of the couch with my feet in his lap, rubbing them gently.

The baby was kicking away, and when I looked down I could see a tiny foot pressing up out of my skin. The first time I saw it, it freaked me the hell out. I nudged Eric with my toes and pointed to my stomach. He smiled at the bump on my bump and leaned over to tickle the little foot. The baby squirmed inside me and then kicked me in the ribs.

I glared at Eric once I was able to catch my breath. "You really need to stop that."

"I'm just playing with him." Eric winked at me.

"Him? How do you know it's a him?"

"Instinct." Eric shrugged.

I snickered and rolled my eyes. "The baby wants strawberry ice cream with peanut butter cups in it."

Eric's face turned a bit green when he looked over at me. "That sounds absolutely disgusting."

"Just be lucky you're the one who doesn't have to eat it." I almost snapped at him.

"You're serious?"

My eyes narrowed and I asked, "Eric, since when do I joke around about what the baby wants?"

"Good point, my love." He slid out of my under my feet and propped them up with pillows. I was swollen just about everywhere. "Do you want ice cream with or without strawberry chunks in it."

He was a smart man. He'd learned after I sent him out a second time to get me the green version of chocolate mint chip ice cream that little things made a difference. I felt horrible for the meltdown I'd had, but I couldn't control it. Thankfully, Eric was patient with me and didn't run screaming from the house every time I mentioned something the baby might (which meant definitely) want.

"No chunks." If I felt a little bit sexier I would have rewarded him by jumping his bones. The instinct was definitely there, I just couldn't get my body to cooperate with me.

"And do you want those little bit size cups, or the big ones you have to cut up?"

Oh, he was going to get double points for this later. "The big ones. You're amazing." I felt my eyes well with tears. Mood swings are fun.

Eric leaned over and kissed me. "It's the least I can do." His hand rested on my giant belly for a moment before he stood up straight to go get me what I wanted.

I was four days away from my due date. We didn't know the sex of the baby, but Eric and I had both been instilled with a feeling since the very beginning we were having a boy. My friend Amelia had tried one of those silly old wives tales where you put the mother's ring on a string and let it hang over her belly to see how the ring moves. If it swings it's a girl, but if it goes in circles, it's a boy. My ring had just hung there for a moment, but then it had started moving in circles. Amelia was convinced it was a boy.

Since Eric and I wanted to be surprised- you know, since we hadn't had enough of that already- we opted not to find out the sex. The only person who knew what I was having was Eric's friend, Pam. She had insisted on knowing for shopping purposes, since Eric's child was the closest she'd ever get to having one of her own. It wasn't that Pam couldn't have kids, so much as she just wasn't interested in being someone's mother. She was perfectly content to play Auntie and spoil Eric's kids rotten. I was fine with that, so long as she kept her potty mouth under lock and key while she did it.

I grabbed the baby name book off the coffee table. Eric and I had agreed easily on a boy's name since we were both so sure we were having a boy. Finding a girl's name proved to be much more difficult, but I'd come up with an idea that was sort of a challenge. Eric and I had been going over and over the book, trying to come up with various possible answers to the gauntlet I'd thrown. I smiled at the list we'd compiled in the back of the book.

I felt a slight pain in my lower abdomen, but my doctor had assured me that was normal. At my last appointment the day before, she'd told me I'd probably been having small contractions for a while. We went over the "birth plan," and I had been amazed how much work went into creating such a thing. I'd always thought it was simple. Woman goes into labor. Woman goes to hospital. Woman threatens to kill every thing, and everyone until she gets epidural. Woman gets epidural and spares the lives of thousands. Labor progresses. Woman pushes. Baby is born. Simple, right?

No, I had to make decisions about what kind of lighting I wanted, and who should be allowed in the room. Who did I want to witness the birth? Did I want to give birth in the water? Did I want to use pain medication? Did I want to try special breathing techniques? Did I want to save the baby's cord blood? It was enough to drive me completely insane. I wanted the plan I described that involved nothing more complicated than me going to the hospital, getting an epidural and then pushing when it was time.

Eric had tried to convince me it was better to go through labor without drugs, but I told him when he could pass a watermelon through his dick, _then_ he could have an opinion. The way I saw it, until the baby was living independently from my body, I got to make all of the decisions. Besides, it's not like I was going to be shot up with heroine. I would be medically monitored. If anything went wrong, an entire hospital of medical staff would be there to make sure I was just fine.

At my last appointment the baby's weight and height had been estimated, and there was concern that if I didn't go into labor on my own in the next couple of days, I might need to have a c-section in order to deliver. I was really hoping that wasn't the case. Not that I was really looking forward to pushing, but I would recover quicker than if I had surgery.

All I could think of was the movie "Knocked Up" and Katherine Heigl saying, "My vagina will never be the same after this." I'd laughed at the line when I'd seen the movie, but now it was on my mind constantly.

Eric came back with the requested ice cream and a giant bag of peanut butter cups. He helped me off the couch so I could doctor my ice cream the way I wanted it, since it was safer for me to do it myself than it was for him to do it for me. It saved us a lot of mood swings and stupid arguments. Once I was satisfied with the concoction, I waddled back to the couch. I was surprised to find the combination was actually rather delicious.

"Try this." I held up a loaded spoon.

"No thanks." Eric shook his head.

"Ohmygod, just try it!" I yelled at him.

He sighed heavily before leaning over and taking a bite. He looked hesitant to give an opinion. I watched him carefully as he chewed, then swallowed, the ice cream. Without a word he got up off the couch and headed for the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" I figured he was going to spit it out.

"To make myself a bowl." He admitted quietly, and I burst out laughing.

* * *

Two days later I was in the midst of folding laundry when my first real contraction hit. I panicked, at first, but then I started to get happy. Yes, this part was going to suck like nothing in my life had ever sucked before, but if it meant I didn't have to lug around all this heinous water weight, I'd deal. I paid attention to the length of the contractions and how much time was between each one. My doctor had told me I shouldn't go to the hospital until my contractions were coming consistently, and had reached a span of five minutes apart. I was preregistered at the hospital in Monroe, so all I had to do was show up.

It took a while before the contractions started to come with an real regularity. When they got to be ten minutes apart, I called Eric. He was at the bar in Shreveport, and it would take him an hour to get back to Bon Temps to get me. The last thing I wanted was to call an ambulance (or worse, my brother) to take me to the hospital, since driving myself was completely out of the question. I hadn't gotten behind the wheel of a car for almost a month by that point. I'd have to move the seat too far back to accommodate my huge belly. My feet would never reach the petals.

"You're sure this isn't false labor?" Eric asked when I told him I was having contractions.

"I'm positive." I said with certainty, and explained what I'd been experiencing for the last couple of hours.

"I'll leave here in ten minutes." He was remarkably calm, but I knew that would change as soon as I really started to feel pain.

That pain came just as he was getting back to the house. The bag I'd packed three weeks before was waiting by the door, which was precisely where I'd left it after I packed it. I wanted it to be right there in case we had to leave in the middle of the night. I paced the house, keeping track of the pains I was feeling. Eric must have kept his foot on as far down as it would go the whole way back to Bon Temps. His car roared up the driveway and came to a sputtering halt in the front.

"Well that didn't take long." I looked up at him with amusement.

"I may have broken a few traffic laws."

"Actually, I was talking about the panic you seem to be in."

"What? I'm not panicking." Said the man with wild eyes who was raking his hand through his hair without much regard.

"Uh huh." I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "It's going to be fine. Just breathe."

It was a complete role reversal I wasn't prepared for. I was supposed to get a free pass on being the basket case. I was the one with hormones surging through me, making all of my decisions. I was the one who might end up in some emergency surgery because my baby's umbilical cord might end up around its neck, or because my uterus didn't start to shrink down like it was supposed to. There was a whole host of things that could go wrong, and I really needed Eric to not let the negative things that _could_ happen get to him. I needed a cheerleader, not a worrywart.

"I'm going to get my coat. Will you take the bag out to the car?" I asked him calmly.

"You're car, right?" He looked at me with pleading eyes.

"You really think I was to try and fold myself into the Corvette?"

He breathed a sigh of relief, kissed me and then took off running. I shook my head as I watched him go. I was just in the process of slipping on my crocs, when I suddenly felt like I'd peed my pants.

"Oh, hell." I muttered and went to the linen closet to get a couple of towels. "Eric, we've gotta go! My water broke!"

A contraction hit me then, too, and I knew the madness was really getting started. He helped me into my car and held my hand the whole way to the hospital. The pain increased exponentially. I was cursing him under my breath for being so damn sexy I couldn't stop myself from having sex with him that day in the basement of the bar. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him biting back a smile at my curses.

"Yeah, you keep laughing, mister, and we'll never have sex again!" I threatened him.

His response was to pick up my hand and kiss my palm.

An hour later I was settled into my bed at the hospital. I was hooked up to a monitor and I'd been examined. I was dilated four centimeters already, thanks to the contractions I'd been having for however long without even realizing I was having them. The contractions became more and more intense, but I'd insisted on waddling laps around the maternity ward until I couldn't take anymore. A lovely man I wanted to send one of my Gran's pecan pies to, came in to give me my epidural.

I was able to get some rest after that. Well, I tried to, but it seemed like every time I finally got settled, someone came in to check my blood pressure, the IV bag hanging off to my left, the baby's heart rate or doing an exam to see how dilated and effaced I was. Napping while someone is prodding around in your hoohah doesn't really work, in case you were wondering. The good thing was, labor was progressing nicely. I'd been given a shot of pitocin to make sure my contractions got a little stronger and stayed on course.

Eric watched TV in a chair that was too small for his large frame, while I tried to get some sleep. He made all the phone calls I asked him to make, although we were trying to keep the birth low key. The exceptions we made were for Jason and Pam. There was no way we could have kept Pam away even if we'd tried. She'd been a little too excited to plan a baby shower for me, and she'd even gone out and bought a fancy new camera so she could be the baby's personal photographer whenever he or she made its appearance.

Jason came in toting a teddy bear that would be bigger than the baby until it was at least a year old, and a giant bouquet of lilies. Pam had her trusty camera and a two gift bags in her hands, since she wouldn't ruin the surprise of whether she was going to have a niece or a nephew. She also had a bottle of sparkling white grape juice in her giant purse, since champagne wasn't allowed.

I'd been in labor for fifteen hours when I finally got the word it was time to start pushing. Jason and Pam departed for the waiting room with Eric promising to come give them an update as soon as he was able. My bed was shifted so I could scoot my butt down to the end of it. A birth bar was raised so I could pull on it if I needed to. A little incubator was brought in, along with a bunch of the equipment I couldn't name even if I wanted to.

The pressure I felt in my body was unbelievable. "I have to push." I said through gritted teeth. My hand was wrapped around Eric's, and squeezing tightly.

My nurse, a sweet and round woman by the name of Tanya, stood at the end of the bed as she gloved her hands. "Wait for the next contraction, hun."

I growled at her and looked over at Eric. He brushed some of my hair off my sweaty forehead and tried to give me a reassuring look. Finally, I couldn't wait anymore and I started pushing. I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted to. Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to get the baby out, and I was in no position to tell it to back its shit down. Besides, listening to my instincts had brought me to where I was. I'd trusted them up to this point. I saw no reason to stop trusting them.

Dr. Ludwig made an appearance when I was very close to crowning. "Everything is looking good, Sookie. You're doing wonderfully." It was the most excitement I'd heard out of Dr. Ludwig since I'd met her.

With Eric holding one of my legs, and Tanya holding the other, I pushed until Dr. Ludwig told me to stop. "I have to keep pushing." I whined.

"Just pant through it, Sookie, we're almost there." Dr. Ludwig had her eyes trained firmly on the baby, attempting to guide it out of me. I pushed with the next contraction and Dr. Ludwig said, "Sookie, give me your hand."

"What? Why?" I looked to Eric, worried something was wrong.

"Everything's fine. Just give me your hand." Dr. Ludwig said. I held my hand out to her and she put it between my legs. I felt something warm and sticky.

"What the hell?" I was starting to wonder if my hoohah had exploded. Sure felt like it had.

"That's your baby's head. You're almost there." She gave me a proud smile.

Any strength I felt I'd been robbed of was suddenly given back with the knowledge I had almost reached the finish line. In just a few minutes, Eric and I were going to be parents. Without warning I started sobbing. Everything hit me all at once. Eric bent down close to me so his lips were grazing my ear when he spoke.

"You can do this, Sookie. You're so much stronger than me." He kissed the side of my face.

Not once had he complained about the bone-crunching strength of my grip on him. If he was in pain at all because of it, he wasn't letting it show on his face. My nails had dug into the back of his hand, and there was a very real possibility he might have scars because of it. As if he knew what I was thinking, he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it.

With renewed strength, I started to bear down even harder. I was determined to be done with all of this as quickly as I could. I had to stop when the baby's head came out so Dr. Ludgwig could suction out the nose and throat. Eric was looking down between my legs with an expression of pure awe on his face.

"Blond hair." He muttered so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

A few pushes later, there was a gush of fluid and the baby slid the rest of the way out. A second later a tiny cry filled the room, and all of the anxiety I'd been carrying was lifted up with the sound of my baby's voice. I collapsed against the mattress and dissolved into sobs that shook my whole body.

"It's a boy!" Eric said with excitement, his hands turning my face so I would look at him. "We have a son."

I nodded, trying to get my breathing under control. The baby was put on my chest and I looked down at him for the first time. He had big blue eyes and blond hair just like Eric's and mine. He was screaming for all he was worth, and probably very unhappy about being naked in a colder environment.

"Hello, little mister." I touched his little cheeks that were still a bit slimy from his travels. "God, I love you so much." I kissed the top of his head, not caring about whatever gunk he was still covered with.

Eric took the baby's picture with his cell phone and texted it to Jason and Pam so they would know our son (_our son!_) had arrived safely. The baby was taken from us so he could be weighed and measured. His little arms and legs were going in every which direction as he continued to wail at the top of his lungs. Eric kissed my forehead about a million times, but I couldn't take my eyes off the baby.

"Do we have a name for this little guy?" Tonya asked as she filled out paperwork.

Eric and I looked at each other and I nodded. "Lukas Corbett Northman." Eric told the nurse.

"How are y'all spellin' that?" She smiled broadly, and I was thankful she'd asked, since most people would probably spell Lukas wrong.

Lukas was Eric's father's name and Corbett was my father's name. Eric's father was very much alive, but living in Sweden. He'd wanted to get here before the baby was born, but bad weather had postponed his first flight and a nasty cold had kept him away. The last thing I needed was to be recovering from the birth and a cold at the same time. Eric left my side to go talk to the nurse and get Lukas' name on all the papers correctly. I noticed Eric taking a few more pictures of the baby with his cell phone while I was left with Dr. Ludwig to deliver the afterbirth. What a gross thing that was, by the way.

In one of the birthing classes I'd gone to, there had been talk of what to do with the placenta and I was disgusted by some of the things suggested. I had no plans to eat it or make a shampoo out of it, thankyouverymuch. It could go directly in the trash, for all I cared. I didn't even want to see it. Once my bed was put back together and I was settled in again, the little plastic crib Lukas was in was rolled over to my bed. No sooner was the nurse out of the room, promising to come back in a little bit to check on us, than Eric was lifting Lukas and cradling the tiny body in his big arms.

"I can't believe how little he is." Eric shook his head.

"Easy for you to say." I muttered with a smile, which Eric returned. "Let me have him?"

Eric looked like he didn't want to give Lukas up just yet, but he put the baby in my arms. I cradled the eight pound, three ounce bundle against my chest and listened to the little noises he made as he slept. Lukas sucked his little cheeks, making his bottom lip bob. He had a chubby little face and Eric's nose. His little eyebrows furrowed together the same way his father's did whenever Eric was deep in thought. If I wasn't sure before whether or not it was possible to be in love at first sight, Lukas made sure I knew it was.

"It's like I'm holding my heart." I whispered and leaned down to smell my son. Sounds weird, but I had to.

It struck me as strange that I knew him so well, yet I hadn't seen his little face until a few minutes ago. I couldn't stop staring at him. Eric managed to fit himself on the bed next to me, apparently having forgotten about his promise to go update Jason and Pam.

"You should probably go talk to Jason and Pam." I whispered.

"In a little bit. I want you two all to myself for a little while." Eric leaned against me, pressing his lips into my hair. I wasn't going to argue with him. It was going to be a while before we were alone again. "Marry me."

My head whipped around, not sure I'd heard him right. "What?"

"Marry me." He was completely serious. The look in his eyes almost broke my heart, it was so full of love.

"Eric, you don't have to-" I started, but his finger covered my lips to stop me from talking.

"I'm not asking you for Lukas. I'm asking you because I love you. You're what I want, Sookie Stackhouse. Forever."

My heart raced in my chest. I looked down at our son, and his little lip curled up in a smirk. He was definitely his father's son. I looked up at Eric and nodded. "Yes."

Eric beamed the biggest smile I'd ever seen and then lunged at me to kiss me. The kiss was a promise and I made it right back to him. I thought of that saying about how children in the dark cause accidents, and accidents in the dark cause children. Only this was no accident. I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and it was the best feeling in the world.

-FIN-


End file.
